Sunday, June 29, 2014

Jeepers Creepers ... or Anyone for Escargot?

I had grabbed my camera and headed out the back door to take photos for a different blog, yet to be written, and decided to quickly take a shot of the lovely rose on the bush we had planted outside Donna-Lane's office (which doubles as the 'snore room').

Behind the bush, I spotted a rather large snail sliming his way up the window.

How cute.

So I called to D-L to come out and see.

As we were admiring the snail's ultra-leisurely pace, I glanced around and realized there were more snails. A lot more!

There were several over to the side of the window, a couple of them racing along the bottom track toward the other window, which was open to the office/bedroom. Where the heck were they all coming from?

Then I noticed about 20-30 snail shells ... including several very-much-alive snails ... in the base of the large red pot holding the rose bush.

I did not realize D-L had dumped a bunch of shells in that pot. (To keep local street cats from peeing in the soil, apparently.)

Wait, I was aware she had placed another 15-20 shells in a small, bowl-shaped stone on the patio, which is adjacent to the other bedroom and the dining area. (And where there are no street cats.) Dash in to check. Sure enough, ambling escargot there too.

She had purchased the 'decorative shells' on the marche the day before, no longer willing to wait for me to find the colored stones she suggested we put in the stone. (Yes, I've looked in more than one store. Think I spotted some at the garden centre when I was buying the rose bush, but of course she hadn't yet mentioned the stones.)

We might have been inclined to eat the snails - there are certainly enough for a meal - but D-L is allergic to mollusks and I've never eaten anything that resembles an alien. So we'll gather them up and take them down to the riverbank later today.